Young swimmers taking to the pool during a recent Cross River Primary/Secondary Schools Sports Festival. Budding swimmers from within and outside West Africa will gather in Lagos to vie for honours in the African CANA Zone Two Junior Championship billed to run from… October 25 to 29.

The Cross River State Sports Commission has raised the alarm over alleged toxic effluent from a telecommunications company’s mast at the U.J. Esuene stadium.

The Chairman of the Commission, Otuekong Orok Duke said that telecommunications outfit leased the land in the stadium in 2006 for two years, which will expire on February 28, 2018, adding, “we have discovered that the promises to sponsor six sports every year for 10 years have not been met and they have even compounded our problems by putting the athletes into risk both from the hazardous emissions of effluent materials from the substation.”

He said, “Initially it was supposed to be just a mast, but now it is a substation which is even more serious than we thought in terms of the hazardous contents emitted from the substation.

“We intend by the expiration of their tenancy to bring in the particular government agency that are supposed to cross check and confirm the extent of effluent materials being radiated by the various masts and infrastructure set up here to be able to determine what we are to do.

“Our task is first to protect the athletes, protect the environment and also to consider the security implication of having the mast here. When we factor all these things, then we consider whether to extend the lease and also to hold them to international best practices and the promises they had made and failed to keep in the past, specifically, the sponsorship of athletes and provision of sports infrastructure.”

Duke said the commission expected the outfit to adhere to the terms of agreement by keeping their promises, adding, “